Pusha T's slow crawl to a debut solo album included the killer mixtape Fear of God II: Let Us Pray, which sure seemed official, being released by
Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Music with major-label distribution. It stretched the definition of a mixtape fairly far, but
West and his team are masters at using smoke and mirrors, as
My Name Is My Name is a combination of right place and right time with the results being hot enough to burn up any rulebook. Here, the former
Clipse member takes that crew's uncompromising stance into the post-
Yeezus and post-
Death Grips age with a claustrophobic and tight effort that roars. If ever an album could slap a listener, it's this one or
Yeezus, but the big difference is that
Pusha is pavement while
West is penthouse. With this one, the streets keep rocking with cool and connectable moments, from an album title inspired by the television series The Wire to the idea of inviting
Kelly Rowland over for the playful come-on "Let Me Love You" (
Pusha offers "I know you think I'm the one, but who doesn't?," a flirty moment that would have never seemed possible while in
Clipse). The
Rowland cut neatly fits into an album that arcs up to its most approachable moment, because even when
Big Sean and
2 Chainz show up on "Who I Am," the guaranteed 2013 hitmakers are thrown into an industrial hip-hop grinder, a challenging moment balanced by a simplistic hook right out of the
Busta Rhymes playbook. "Sweet Serenade" is aptly titled, although even
Chris Brown and
Swizz Beatz can't pull
Pusha from the edge, while "40 Acres" with
the-Dream lives up to its guest's name as elegant and ethereal production meets the rapper at his most poignant ("Born to mothers who couldn't deal with us/Left by fathers who wouldn't build with us"). "S.N.I.T.C.H." with
Pharrell brings some light
Neptunes soul into this ominous universe, "Suicide" is a raw
Clipse flashback mashing with stuttering electro trap music, and "Hold On" with
Rick Ross tastes like well-aged port as an uncredited
Kanye brings the sweetness with background singing while the downtrodden lyrics offer the bitter and give the song some serious body. With
Pusha's pen at full force and his performance a proper combination of cold and tense, the album is as if
Clipse's
Hell Hath No Fury were atom-smashed into something more artful and unstable.
My Name Is My Name is a remarkable and vital solo debut. ~ David Jeffries